Infographic: Hunter S. Thompson’s Kentucky Derby
Based on "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved"
Infographic by Kentucky for Kentucky and Rachael Sinclair Design Features InfographicIn Hunter S. Thompson’s 1970 article, “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved,” Thompson described the people and events surrounding the Kentucky Derby in a frenzied first-person account unlike traditional news reports.
The result, was an article that paved the way for “Gonzo” journalism (a term coined by a The Boston Globe magazine editor after reading Thompsons piece), a form of subjective and emotional narrative storytelling. South Boston Irish slang for the last person standing after a long night of binge drinking, this type of writing later became it’s own celebrated sub-genre.
In honor of tomorrow’s Kentucky Derby, Kentucky for Kentucky teamed up with artist Rachael Sinclair to create an infographic, with each jockey vest symbolizing descriptions out of Thompson’s famed article—Colonel Quick, Nekkid Horses, Whiskey Gentry, Dust Commander, Old Fitz, Chemical Billy and Inbred Horses—to name a few.
Prints of the infographic are available this week only for $30.
